


How Could He

by ElsieMcClay



Series: Voltron Fics [18]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Sick Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 21:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12639465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElsieMcClay/pseuds/ElsieMcClay
Summary: Keith is late, and Lance is worried.





	How Could He

**Author's Note:**

> For anon on tumblr :)

Wow, it’s cold out, Keith thinks, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. It’s not even the “winter is coming” kind of cold, but it’s more of the kind of cold that screams “get inside before you get smacked across the head with a piece of ice falling from the sky” or “y’all best get inside ‘cause the sky is about to kill you with freezing rain”. So, like, the musty-cold. It’s weird, and it doesn’t make sense, but at the same time, it does. 

Keith fumbles with his keys for a moment, but the door flies open before he can stick the right one in the lock. 

“Get in here,” Lance growls. Keith stumbles when Lance pulls him into the apartment, but he manages to straighten out before Lance storms past him. He paces the length of the entryway, tugging at his hair.

“You’re late,” Lance accuses. He jabs Keith’s chest with his finger, glaring at him. 

“There was a car crash, so the sidewalks were jammed.”

“You should have called, Keith. I was worried sick, okay?”

“Well, I’m fine,” Keith defends, stepping back toward the door, away from Lance’s touch. “It’s okay. I’m here now, right?”

“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t worried. God, Keith. I was practically trading personalities with Hunk, and I nearly had a panic attack when I turned on the news and saw the crash. I thought you were dead,” Lance nearly screams. 

“I’m not dead, Lance, so just calm down–”

“I’m not just gonna ‘calm down’!” Keith sees the panic in Lance’s eyes, but he also sees the anger. For some reason, the anger makes Keith angry himself. It’s not his fault he’s late and forgot to charge his phone last night. 

“You’re gonna have to,” Keith replies lowly. He throws the door back open and runs down the hall with one last look at Lance. 

He knows it’s small and he’s overreacting and he should go back and comfort his boyfriend, but Lance should just calm down. Neither of them are thinking straight, and he’s just giving them both some time to calm down and collect their thoughts. 

That’s when the sky lets loose. The musty-cold from earlier makes way into freezing rain that has Keith soaked in a matter of moments, and he’s running through the streets until he reaches a flimsy, graffitied bus-stop. He pushes through the small group of people under the overhang until he’s huddled himself into a corner, shivering and wishing he were home with Lance. 

When Keith doesn’t come back after an hour of the rain coming down in buckets, Lance starts to panic again. He bites on his nails, a habit that Keith usually tells him off for, before deciding to go looking for Keith. He runs out to his car and turns the heat up when he gets in. For a moment, he can barely see, but the rain starts letting up after awhile. 

Anxiety and panic bloom in his gut as another hour goes by with no sign of Keith. He’s not answering his phone, which is probably dead if Lance is being honest. He continues to search even after the rain stops. It’s been close to two and a half hours now, but Lance is searching still. 

Finally, Lance is jumping out of his car and sprinting across the street until he’s kneeling next to Keith. He’s curled into the corner with his coat over half his face, his eyes are twisted shut, and his breathing is coming out in huffs. Lance shakes Keith’s shoulder, wincing at the dampness of his coat. 

“Lance?” Keith mumbles, squinting at Lance. “Lance–I, I’m sorry–I didn’t mean to–” He sobs, not looking Lance in the eye. He holds his face in his hands, sobbing and shivering. 

“No, no, Keith. Shhh, it’s okay.” Lance pulls Keith into his chest, carding a hand through Keith’s hair before picking him up. Keith clutches onto Lance’s shirt like his life depends on it, crying into the fabric. 

Lance sets Keith in the passenger’s seat and runs around the car, boots splashing in the new puddles on the road. 

Later, Lance finds himself pressed against a sleeping, slightly feverish Keith as he sleeps. Keith’s breathing is even now, and he’s bundled in a few blankets. Lance gazes down at him, unsure of how he could ever stay mad at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my tumblr--elsiemcclay!!!


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